Meadow rue 'Black Stockings'
Thalictrum 'Black Stockings' ·
Fluffy clouds of lavender-purple flowers at head height, on stems that are shining black from top to bottom.
- Size
- 6 ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid June to late July
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Weaver
A bed built around meadow rue 'Black Stockings'
The planner designed this bed around meadow rue 'Black Stockings' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why meadow rue 'Black Stockings' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Meadow rue 'Black Stockings' × 4, purple
- 2 Green-and-gold × 11, yellow
- 3 Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' × 5, pink
- 4 Garden phlox 'Jeana' × 4, pink
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Sicilian honey garlic × 4, cream
- 7 Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' × 10, blue
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are daisies, spires, dense clusters and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only purple.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to garden phlox 'Jeana' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 4 plants in 2 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From mid June to late July.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 4 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (purple, pink and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with cream to calm things between them. The back corners are held by garden phlox 'Jeana' and meadow rue 'Black Stockings', the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 4 Good, 2 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where meadow rue 'Black Stockings' goes in a border
At 6 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: weaver. A light, airy plant threaded singly between sturdier ones to knit the planting together.
The black stems are the point: place it where the light catches them, against a pale background. Tall, narrow and see-through, so it can come forward in a bed.
- Tall, airy height in part shade
- Dark stems against pale foliage
- Cutting
What to plant with meadow rue 'Black Stockings'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Japanese forest grass 'Aureola': its chartreuse leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Astilbe: in flower together for five weeks, from late June; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Goat's beard: in flower together for three weeks, from mid June; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about meadow rue 'Black Stockings'
Does meadow rue 'Black Stockings' need sun or shade?
Meadow rue 'Black Stockings' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does meadow rue 'Black Stockings' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does meadow rue 'Black Stockings' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Mid June to late July |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid June to late July |
| Zone 7 | Early June to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Early June to mid July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should meadow rue 'Black Stockings' be planted?
20 in (50 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 ft (180 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many meadow rue 'Black Stockings' plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, threaded between sturdier plants.
In the bed above, the planner used four in two groups.
What flowers after meadow rue 'Black Stockings'?
Meadow rue 'Black Stockings' is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Hardy hibiscus: from late July to mid September, 5 ft tall.
- Tiger lily: from late July to late August, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does meadow rue 'Black Stockings' look like in winter?
Meadow rue 'Black Stockings' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Thalictrum
- Chinese meadow rue 'Hewitt's Double' Thalictrum delavayi 'Hewitt's Double'
- Columbine meadow rue Thalictrum aquilegiifolium
- Lavender mist meadow rue Thalictrum rochebruneanum
- Rue anemone Thalictrum thalictroides
- Yellow meadow rue Thalictrum flavum subsp. glaucum
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 6 ft (180 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Mid June to late July; airy sprays; purple, lavender
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; blue-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.